The Perfect 32_The sickened luna’s last chance

E & Alexander

 E

 I barely saw Alexander the next day. He had left the house before I woke up, giving me no chance to talk to him about what happened.

 But I tried not to feel guilty aboutst night. After all, it wasn’t my fault that Alexander couldn’t take a joke. And even if it wasn’t a joke, why should I caret He had been cruel to me for years. Onement about him being aggravating was nothingpared to the five years of torment.

 Still, I couldn’t help but feel a pang in my chest every time I thought about it.

 “You’re frowning again,” Lilith pointed out as we shared tea around eleven o’clock. “What’s on your mind, dear?” 

 “Nothing important.”

 Lilith tilted her head. “Is this about you and Alexander? I heard he slept in his studyst night.”

 “The staff gossips too much,” I muttered. “But yes, he did. He got pissed at me over a silly game at dinner. Not that I particrly minded having the bed to myself without him sulking in it, but…”

 My voice trailed off, and Lilith sighed. “Well, that won’t help with the rumors. Half the pack still thinks your marriage is just for show. And there’s talk that you’re both having affairs.”

 I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face. I couldn’t me them for thinking that way. Even if we yed our parts perfectly in public, the masks always came off the moment we came home. The staff noticed, and if they gossiped to the rest of the pack, then everyone would believe them.

 “What you two need,” Lilith added, “is another public date.”

 “We go out together all the time now.”

 “You apany him during his Alpha duties. You need a date,” she rified. “A real date–or at least, real in the eyes of the public. You want him to do well in the election, don’t you?”

 I nodded, thinking back to the contract. Alexander never said he would pull out of it if he didn’t win the election, but I didn’t know him well enough to know that for certain. I oftenid awake at night, fearing what might happen if he didn’t follow through at the end of the nine months.

 With only three months to live after that… What would I do then?

 No, I needed to ensure he did as well as possible during the election. Even if he lost, I had to ensure it was by no fault of mine. Only then could I be certain that he would divorce me and reject me like he said.

 Which meant that we had to keep up appearances, especially with all these rumors floating around. And if I was beingpletely honest with myself, the thought of another “date” with Alexander did make my heart flutter a little.

 “What would you want to do?” Lilith asked, pulling me from my thoughts. “If you could go on any date with him?”

 I thought about it for a moment. The truth was, I’d never been on a real date before. My father had kept me sheltered in high school and then I was married off to Alexander as soon as I was of age. There were so many experiences I’d never had.

 “I don’t know,” I admitted. “Something simple, I guess. A movie, maybe?” I bit my lip, feeling suddenly shy. “I’ve always wanted to… you know… hold hands in a dark theater. Stupid, right?”

 Lilith’s expression softened. “That’s not stupid at all, sweetheart. It’s actually very sweet.”

 I looked down at my hands, embarrassed, it felt so juvenile for someone in their twenties to still want something so innocent, but I had missed out on so many normal milestones. First kiss until the press conference, first real date, first… everything,

 “You should do it,” Lilith said firmly. “Buy the tickets. Take him to a movie.”

 “You think he’d agree to that?”

 “It’ll look good for his campaign, won’t it? He’ll agree.”

 An hourter, I had purchased two tickets to a horror movie showing that evening at the focal theater. Horror wasn’t exactly my first choice, but it was the only thing ying that seemed like something Alexander might enjoy.

 I spent an embarrassing amount of time getting ready, trying on different outfits before settling on a simple blue dress that I’d been told brought out my eyes. I curled my hair, applied a lightyer of makeup, and even put on a bit of perfume.

 All for a fake date with my husband. Goddess, I really was pathetic. Somehow, this felt worse than when I had genuinely tried to be perfect to garner his 

 affection.

 A little whileter, I found Alexander outside the post office in town, deep in conversation with Gabriel. When Alexander spotted me approaching, he did a double take.

 I rarely dressed up like this unless it was for a formal pack event. And I certainly never went anywhere dressed like this specifically to see him, of all people.

 “E,” he said, straightening a little as I approached. “What are you doing here?”

 I held out the movie tickets, hating the way my hand trembled slightly. “I thought we could go see a movie together.”

 Alexander

 I stared at the movie tickets in E’s outstretched hand. A horror film. Tonight. Just the two of us.

 The thought of sitting next to her in a dark theater for two hours felt too close forfort. Especially when she looked like… this.

 The blue dress she wore hugged her curves in a way that made my wolf turn restless. Her hair fell in soft curls around her face, and the scent of cherry blossoms and vani seemed stronger than usual, making my nostrils itch.

 She had clearly put effort into her appearance.

 But I knew this was just a performance.

 Afterst night, I thought I knew what E truly thought of me. aggravated her. She wanted to throw things at my head. She’d never feel anything positive toward me.

 So I figured I had nothing to worry about. Even if I stupidly developed feelings for her, she wouldn’t feel the same way. Therefore, I wouldn’t be at risk of having a romance with someone who could have potentially had something to do with my parents‘ death.

 “Alright,” I agreed, taking the tickets. “We should go now if we want to find seats in time.”

 Gabriel suddenly cleared his throat beside me. “What a coincidence! I was nning to see that exact movie tonight.”

 E frowned. “You were?”

 “Absolutely. Horror films are my favorite.” Gabriel turned to me with a look in his eyes that I knew all too well. “You don’t mind if I join you, do you, Alpha?”

 I knew he had no intention of seeing the movie before. He just wanted to act as a buffer in case anything went down.

 “Three is a crowd, don’t you think? We’re supposed to seem like a real couple.” E pursed her lips and looked at me as if expecting me to deny him, but knew Gabriel was right. Having him there would make it easier to maintain my distance.

 “I don’t mind,” I said.

 E bit the inside of her cheek. “Fine. Let’s go.”

 The theater was just a short walk from where we were. Gabriel kept himself ced between us the entire time, chatting with me about pack matters E was silent. Once we arrived, we handed over our tickets, stopped at the concessions stand, then headed into the theater.

 We found our seats in the middle of the theater. Before Gabriel could sit, E sat between us. Gabriel’s eyes shed, but I just offered him a shrug behand her back. Nothing would happen. Not with him here. And besides, it would seem better to onlookers if E and I were sitting together, ying the role of a happy couple to quell the rumors that I knew were still circting.

 Finally, the lights dimmed, and the movie began. It was a standard horror film with the usual jump scares and creepy music. Gabriel had bought arge popcorn that he grudgingly shared with us.

 About halfway through the movie, during a particrly tense scene, a loud bang on screen made E jump. Her hand shot out instinctively, reaching across the arm rest andnding on mine.

 I stiffened. Her skin was warm and soft against mine, and her fingers were slender and fit perfectly into mine. Slowly, I turned to look at her, and cur eyes met in the dim light of the screen.

 For a moment, everything else faded away–the movie, the crowd, even Gabriel sitting on the other side of her. There was only E, her eyes wide, her lips slightly parted.

 In that moment, she looked even more beautiful than usual, which I couldn’t deny even to myself.

 What did she truly think of me? What did I truly think of her?

 Why did my pulse spike whenever I looked at her?

 Suddenly, Gabriel shifted in his seat, and popcorn he was holding spewed out of the bucket and directly onto E’sp. Butter immediately stained the delicate silk.

 “Oh!” E gasped, jumping to her feet. “What-”

 “I’m so sorry,” Gabriel said curtly. “Got scared.”

 E said nothing, just hurried out of the theater, and the scent of cherry blossoms and vani drew me toward her. But there was another scent there, too, beneath it. Sadness. It made my wolf roil in my chest.

 Without thinking, I stood to follow her, ignoring Gabriel’s protests.

 In the lobby, I scanned the area and saw E slip into the women’s bathroom.

 I approached the restroom door hesitantly. I could hear soft whimpersing from inside. Carefully, I pushed the door open just enough to peek in.

 E was standing at the sink, frantically trying to clean butter stains from her dress with shaking hands. The tears on her cheeks glittered in the dim light.

 A.D

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The Perfect 32